Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Look familiar? Bruno the boxer dog bears an uncanny resemblance to the Phantom of the Opera and has found a new home in Royston, Hertfordshire, because of it

An abandoned boxer dog has been rehomed after his new owners noticed he bears an uncanny resemblance - to The Phantom of the Opera.

Tony and Christine Armstrong, 72 and 56, adopted Bruno after spotting his unusual markings when they visited an animal rescue shelter to look for a pet.
The three-year-old boxer has a striking white mark across half of his face, which looks identical to the famous mask worn by the Phantom of the Opera.

The real Phantom: An actor (right) hits the stage at London's Haymarket Theatre to perform in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Phantom of the Opera

Retired Tony, who lives with shop assistant Christine in Royston, Hertfordshire, revealed that his pet's masked face has drawn lots of comments from friends.

He said: 'My wife and I have always liked the music from the Phantom of the Opera for the music.

'We had a boxer for 12 years and when he passed away we looked around for another.
'As soon as we saw Bruno we knew we wanted him - he went straight up to my wife an licked her hand and she fell for him.

Casual stroll: Tony Armstrong takes his dog Bruno for a walk around Royston for the dog's morning exercise

'He's a really beautiful dog with lovely markings and he stands out. Several friends have already noticed that he looks like the Phantom of the Opera.'

Bruno was rescued by the Home Counties Boxer Welfare charity and placed in a temporary home in Basildon, Essex.

Bruno was adopted by his new owners eight weeks ago.

And Tony added: 'We have never been to the theatre to see The Phantom of the Opera but we watched it when it was on TV.

'It's such a famous mask and popular at Halloween so we immediately recognised it when we saw Bruno.'